The Root; Published By: Jessica Washington
Disturbing leaked audio of county officials in Oklahoma has caught the entire state’s attention. A local print newspaper, the McCurtain Gazette-News, published audio from inside a public meeting of the McCurtain County Commissioners on March 6, where local officials discussed lynching Black people and murdering reporters.
Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, who is calling for the officials to resign, did not mince words in his statement about the tape. “I am both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County,” said Stitt, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I will not stand idly by while this takes place.”
Among those being called to resign are Sheriff Kevin Clardy, his investigator Alicia Manning, commissioners Mark Jennings and Robert Beck, commissioners’ secretary Heather Carter, and jail administrator Larry Hendrix.
Before we even get into the racism, the audio starts off deeply unsettling. The group begins by joking about starting a barbecue with the remains of a recently deceased woman, Danette Stowe, who died in a fire after attempting to rescue her two dogs. Read more
